4 Keys to Answered Prayer

Have you ever wondered if your prayers make a difference or if they are being heard or answered? If you knew for sure your prayers would be answered would you pray more?  How to get your prayers answered is a question many believers have. I want to share with you 4 simple Biblical keys that unlock the power of prayer and guarantee that your prayers will be answered!  It’s important first though to understand what real prayer is.

Prayer Defined

Prayer defined in its simplest terms is talking with God. You sharing with Him and Him sharing with you. Prayer involves both talking and listening. Too often, we do all the talking. I want to encourage you to spend more time listening to what God wants to speak to you. Following that one tip alone will make a huge difference in how effective your prayers are. Just like communication with your spouse is crucial to the marriage relationship, prayer is an essential part of your relationship with God.  So, make talking with God a priority in your life every day.  Not only do you need to know how to get your prayers answered you need to know what real prayer looks like.   We only need to look at the life of Jesus to find out.

Jesus Modeled a Life of Prayer

Prayer is an important element of the every day life of a Christian. Jesus’ disciples clearly saw this and the effect that prayer had in His life. He spent time in prayer by Himself and the disciples realized that the results Jesus was getting and the demonstration of God’s power and wisdom flowing from Jesus’ life directly was impacted by the intimate fellowship He enjoyed with His Father. We can experience greater results and fruit in our life when prayer is a vital part of our life.   Read through the four gospels and note all the times Jesus prayed to the Father.

Different Kinds of Prayer have different rules…

There are many different kinds of prayer; united prayer, intercession, prayer of petition, corporate prayer, prayer of faith, prayer of agreement, etc. Each prayer has its own purpose and unique protocol.  So, their are some unique rules for each different kind of prayer. It’s important to know what kind of prayer you are praying and use the rules that apply to that kind of prayer.  That being said all prayer has common keys that need to be used.

How to Get Your Prayers Answered – use these 4 Keys

Here are 4 keys to getting your prayers answered regardless of the kind of prayer you are praying;

1. Pray God’s Will. The first key to getting your prayers answered is to pray what God wants. 1John 5:4-5 tells us, “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.” What an incredible promise. The way we pray His will, is to pray His Word. God reveals His will through His Word. Therefore, find scriptures that promise what you are praying for and include those scriptures in your prayer.  When you do you can be assured God will hear that prayer and He will watch over that Word to see it accomplished. (Jeremiah 1:12)

2. Understand Righteousness. James 5:16 says, “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” In other words the prayers of a “righteous” person get answered. To be righteous means to be right with God. How do you get right with God? You must put your trust in Jesus. 2Corinthians 5:21 tells us “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. ” Jesus takes our sin and gives us His righteousness. We are not made right with God based on what we do or don’t do, we are made righteous based on what Jesus did and if we believe and put our trust in the work of Jesus He gives us His righteousness. You must know and understand this Biblical key for your prayers to be effective.

3. Ask the FATHER in JESUS name. Jesus tells us in John 16:23, “And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you.” This is an important principle of prayer. “In that day”, means today, now that Jesus has ascended into heaven. When we are asking for something in prayer we need to be asking Father God in the powerful name of Jesus. The good news is as a believer you have direct access to the throne of God. You can come boldly before God and ask (pray) God according to His will. You only can do that when you know your are righteous (#2) and when you do make sure you are asking Him according to His Word. (#1)

4. Pray in Faith. James 1:5-8 says, “let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith , with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” This is a huge key to answered prayer. To have faith means you have one hundred percent confidence in God concerning whatever you are praying. You are fully persuaded with no wavering, questioning, or doubting. You know, that you know, that you know you have what you are praying for. How do you get faith? What do you do if you are doubting or wavering? You meditate on the Word of God that deals with the area of your prayer. Romans 10:17 says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” You need to have unwavering faith in what you are praying for and in Jesus Christ.

Prayer is nothing fancy or complicated. Simply humble yourself, get alone with God, worship and praise Him, pray (talk with God), and let your needs be known according to His Word. Spend time in His presence, listening, praying in faith believing you have received and your prayers will be answered. How to get your prayers answered – put these 4 keys into practice and get ready to see “BREAKTHROUGH IN PRAYER”.

The post How to Get Your Prayers Answered – 4 keys appeared first on Breakthrough with Pastor Bruce Edwards.

7 Biblical Keys for Christian Living

Being prayerful is one of the most powerful keys to “Living the Christian Life.” Colossians 4:2 says, “Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.” As followers of Christ we should be committed to a lifestyle of prayer.

Prayer is one of the greatest privileges we have as a Christian. However, we often make prayer something more complicated than it is and as a result miss out on the power of prayer in our lives. Prayer is simply having a conversation with God; you talking to God and God talking to you, God listening to you and you listening to God. Prayer is nothing more and nothing less. Being prayerful is crucial for a believer.

Being Prayerful is About Relationship

We need to make prayer part of our life every day and through out the day. Prayer should not be reserved just for the most extreme circumstances or when something bad happens and it should not be relegated to just some religious function. Prayer is about intimacy and relationship. God wants to connect with us. For the Christian, praying should be like breathing … just as breathing is the response of physical life to the presence of air so prayer should be the response of spiritual life to the presence of God!

Prayer that flows out of that kind of relationship is extremely powerful. James 5:16-18 tells us, “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.” God listens to prayers, answers prayers, and moves in response to prayers.

4 Helpful Keys to Being Prayerful

Here are 4 things you can work on to improve your prayer life:

1. Make it a habit. The best way to make something a habit is to make it practically achievable and second to attach it to an existing habit. Prayer is something you should do throughout the day – when you get up, while brushing your teeth, driving to work, at work, etc. Learn to incorporate prayer in your daily life and make it a habit.
2. Make it exciting. Prayer should not become dry and difficult. Keeping prayer fresh and fun may be the greatest secret to being prayerful. While prayer is a serious matter look for ways to change things up and don’t be afraid to be creative. Keep a prayer journal. Do a prayer walk. Pray over your personal calendar. Pray over the news headlines.
3. Make it by the spirit. Prayer is not a work of the flesh. Prayer is not something to do by yourself. You need to employ the help of the Holy Spirit with your prayers. Ephesians 6:17 and Romans 8:26-27.
4. Make it the Word. God has promised to answer our prayers when we pray His will. (1John 5:14) God’s will is His Word. The more we pray the Word of God the more effective and powerful our prayer.

Put things 4 keys of prayer into practice to improve the effectiveness of your prayers. Being prayerful is a key to living the Christian life!

Other Biblical Keys for Christian Living –

1. Being a Servant- CLICK HERE
2. Being Merciful – CLICK HERE
3. Being Kind – CLICK HERE
4. Being Joyful – CLICK HERE
5. Being Grateful – CLICK HERE
6. Being Led by the Spirit – CLICK HERE
7. Being Prayerful – CLICK HERE

The post Being prayerful – Biblical key to Christian living appeared first on Breakthrough with Pastor Bruce Edwards.